Lack of Funding Leads to Demolition of Fieldhouse Wading Pool Area

Thanks to Patch reader Michele Almeida for tipping us off to what looked like the demolition of the wading area at the Expo Center Fieldhouse, which is still called "Pete's Pool" by many locals. Patch posed the question to city staff, and here's what we found:

In December of 2007, the Virginia Graeme Baker Act was signed into law, which required the wading pool at the Fieldhouse to comply with pump, drain cover and other safety requirements.  In 2008  the wading pool was inspected by the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health, and two significant deficiencies were found regarding the fence and circulation system.  Due to a lack of funding to fix the deficiencies, the City closed the wading pool in 2008. At that time the pumps and pipes were disabled or removed.

Without a valid operating permit, the City is required to either install a safety cover or decommission it by backfilling it.  The wading pool has stood inoperable for five years or more, and there is no funding to fix the wading pool, so the City is planning to backfill the pool with gravel, remove the fence and create a landscape amenity of the remaining pool features.